Are you by faith generously spreading the seed of God’s Word?

 21 Feb 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

Numbers 5

Numbers 6

Mark 4:1-20

He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126:6). 

Are you by faith generously spreading the seed of God’s Word?

Jesus gives us the parable of the sower. The Greek term “parable” literally means to cast alongside of. Parables give a story derived from life that conveys a simple truth. Parables can be used to make a comparison or give a contrast. Our Lord begins, “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow” (Mark 4:3). Jesus’ apostles desperately need to grasp the meaning of this parable since they are the ones called upon to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We have also been called to bring the gospel to the lost. Jesus says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). 

Employment Point: Scatter the seed of God’s Word leaving the results to Him.

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Reflections

Here it is written to scatter the seeds. We are not asked to harvest. Salvation belongs to the Lord and only when there is opportune time will we be asked to be harvester. 

I also realised bearing witnesses is the job of every one of us. Not just the pastors or people working in church. Each and every one of us as a child of God are to bear good witness of Christ. How we think, how we talk and how we act all speaks of our heart. Therefore we need to guard our thoughts, speech and deeds and make sure everything is Christ-like. This is not an easy task for Jesus is perfect and we are not.  But the one thing we can do is to remind ourselves that everyone is looking at us like eagles. Ready to scrutinise every Christian and condemn us as hypocrites. May we be more mindful of our actions and speech so that it inspires others.

“May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.” “ ‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.””Numbers‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Hmm it does seems that women are subjected to more trials than men. However, the reverse is also true. God treasures women more than men. We are also reminded in the bible of strong women even in those ancient times how they are able to stand firm to their faith. Living in the modern world, a lot of things have changed. But let us not forget we are still children of God and let us all hold our heads high when people question about our faith. And even when they cast doubts on our faith, we too shall say Amen, so be it. 
• Wondering where is the test for the unfaithful husband.. 🤭

“But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.””

Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬, ‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Mark was being rather specific here. We need to grow deep roots of faith, so that like a tree, we will then be able to stand firm and not fall. We too need to be careful to not let the worries of this world pull us away from the Lord. We need to hear, learn, internalise His word in order to learn

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Have You Ever Been Carried Away for Him?

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

February 21

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” — Mark 14:6

If love does not carry us beyond ourselves, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, it is not love. It may be affection or warmth of feeling, but it does not have the true nature of love in it.

In Mark 14, Mary of Bethany is so carried away by her love for Jesus that she breaks a bottle of precious perfume and pours the fragrance over his head. Have I ever done something like this for God, not because it is my duty or there is some reward in it for me but just because I love him? If you are spending all your time marveling about the magnificence of the redemption, remember that there are valuable things you could be doing for the Redeemer. Not colossal, divine things: simple, human things that show God you genuinely love him.

There are times when it seems as though God is watching just to see if we will abandon ourselves to him. It’s as though he wants to catch us in a natural, spontaneous, affectionate action. Abandonment is of more value to God than personal holiness. Personal holiness fixes the eye on its own spotlessness. When we fixate on our own holiness, we obsess over how we walk and talk and look. We become fearful of offending God, anxiously wondering if we’re useful. If we come to the conclusion that no, we aren’t, we are near the truth. It is never a question of being useful but of being of value to God himself. When we are abandoned to God, he works through us all the time.

Numbers 1-3; Mark 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.

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Reflections

How are we loving Him? What actions did we take to prove our love to Him? Did we treat Him like the only one lover we have or did we treat Him as a spare tyre?

Mary was willing to give up a bottle of precious perfume that’s worth months of wages. If we put it into perspective, are we even willing to give up a full month’s salary just for the Lord? We can probably understand why the bible chose to record this down because of its significance. It was a high price to pay but yet to Mary, this is worth it. In fact, He is worth it.

How much worth or value did we assign to Christ? How much are we willing to give up in comparison? If we can spend $100 on a lavishing meal but yet cannot give $100 in tithe or offering, perhaps it is time we examine our hearts.

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Lent devotion Day 4/53

taken from YouVersion, Lent for Everyone

Lent for Everyone is a devotional created and written by N.T. (Tom) Wright. For each day of Lent, there is a reading chosen from the Gospel of Matthew, plus a reflection by Wright. These readings have grown out of a project encouraging Lent reading in Northern England. This is the second in a three-volume series based on the Revised Common Lectionary of the Church of England.

Today’s reading:

Matthew 4:1-11

SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

It starts with a flicker of thought, a tiny little idea that darts across the mind while you're doing something else. It seems harmless, just one of the millions of things that the human brain comes up with. But then it returns, a minute or an hour later. You feel it now as something familiar, and perhaps enticing. If I claim travel expenses for that trip, even though I had a ride from a friend...if I had a chance to say that really cutting remark to the man who's always been mean to me . . . if I played my cards right, I might persuade my friend's spouse to spend an evening with me, and then maybe . . .

Always, to begin with, it seems quite reasonable, only just a bit off limits. But if we play with the idea, or allow it to play with us, then a new course is set, heading for disaster at one level or another.

Christians have always found comfort in the fact that Jesus was tempted as we are. But his temptations, in this famous story, are not just an example, showing us how to resist, though of course they are that too. (Notice how his mind, well stocked with scripture, comes back again and again with the right response.) They are part of the larger story of how 'heaven's rule' came to earth.

Part of the point of the 'kingdom of heaven', you see, and of Jesus' own mission to make it happen, is that there was another power ruling the earth. If Jesus was to bring God's rescuing rule to the world, the present power had to be defeated. Jesus' 'temptations' are therefore the personal side of the larger battle he had to fight if God's rule was to take hold. Like David fighting Goliath, he had to take on the enemy one to one if the people as a whole were to be set free.

The three temptations here, like most if not all temptations, are good things that are being distorted. Bread is good. Jesus will later create a huge amount of it from a few loaves, to feed hungry people. But should he do that just for himself — and just to satisfy himself that he really is the 'Son of God', as the heavenly voice at his baptism had said? No: Jesus will satisfy himself with what God has said, rather than with any attempt to prove it.

So, too, Jesus may already have had a sense that his own vocation would end in a horrible death, trusting that God would raise him from the dead. But the satanic distortion of this is that he should perform a crazy stunt to attract attention. Again, Jesus refuses: that would be using God's power as magic.

Finally, it's clear throughout Matthew's gospel, and particularly at the very end, that Jesus as 'king of the Jews' is to become the true lord of the whole world. But the path by which he moves to that lordship is not the satanic one which would make him grab it for his own ends. The whole of the book is about the alternative path, the true way by which Jesus comes to embody heaven's rule on earth.

Once more, we are not simply spectators in this extraordinary drama. We, too, are tempted to do the right things in the wrong way, or for the wrong reason. Part of the discipline of Lent is about learning to recognize the flickering impulses, the whispering voices, for what they are, and to have the scripture-fuelled courage to resist. We, too, are part of the ongoing battle for heaven's rule to be established on earth. Every successful fight against temptation is one more step on the road to the ultimate victory.

TODAY

Lord Jesus, as you saw through the temptations and refused them, give us wisdom to recognize the tempter's voice, and strength to resist.

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The three temptations to me are a reminder that so long we are in this world, we will get tempted every time and again till the end of time. The enemy will not give up so easily on us. So in the way, if we feel like we are being tested all the time, it may be a good thing too! For the enemy will not be bothered by someone who does not seek God.

Let’s pray:

Father, please help us to focus our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Help us to assign a true value to Him for He is priceless and beyond all measures. If we can give good gifts of any kind to our family or loved ones, we should be able to give an even better gift to Jesus Christ, our Lord. For who loved us more than Him? Lord help us to set our priorities right and put You in the first place.  In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen 🙏🏻